The poison is counted as a ‘treasure’ also showing her greed. She can do anything with the poison as she calls it ‘wild’. The poison is an ‘invisible pleasure’, this oxymoron shows us that it is a mask which deceives people. She wants to ‘carry pure death in an earring’; she can do anything with the poison. She realises the actual power of the poison, if one drop could kill one person, think what ‘a signet’ or ‘a fan mount’ could do. She turns it into a fantasy and gives names of other people that she is jealous of, like ‘Pauline’ and ‘Elise’. Again she becomes excited thinking how easy it is to kill someone.
She has urgency and wants it to look beautiful, ‘Quick-is it finished?’ the caesura puts emphasis on the urgency. She is disappointed in the appearance, ’the colour is too grim’. She wants the other women to enjoy it, ‘let it brighten her drink’ this shows that she is evil, sadistic and enjoying the upcoming death. ‘And try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer!’ shows her prolonged excitement, there is an increase in pace, in addition the alliteration shows the excitement.
She is very jealous, she thinks that a ‘drop’ wont do any harm to her rival, ‘she’s not little, no minion like me!’ shows that her rival has greater significance, she is disappointed and she feels that the other women is more powerful and manipulative. Her rival ‘ensnared him’, making her even more jealous that she cannot do this. The drop ‘never will free’ her lover, she thinks a lot more than a drop will be needed. ‘The soul from those masculine eyes’, shows that her rival must be killed so the attraction stops. She is jealous of the size and shape of her opponent. She wants to look at her rival and wants her to ‘shrivel’ up. But the caesura shows that this cannot happen.
In the tenth verse we see how evil she is, again we see the use of alliteration and plosives, ‘brand, burn up, bite,’ which shows the brutality and violence of her. The caesuras show her continuous pleasure and enjoyment. Also she wants the poison to hurt her rival and she wants her lover to see the ‘pain’. It’s a contrast of her power with the poison.
There is a sense of urgency, ’Is it done?’ It also creates excitement, which is put on emphasis by the caesura. The alliteration of ‘the delicate droplet’ and ‘fortune’s fee’ shows her future happiness and she is giving her entire fortune for the droplet. She takes pleasure that it will bring pain to her rival, ‘If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me’.
She then puts her pleasure aside and has a sense of urgency ‘Now, I take all my jewels, gorge gold to you fill’, showing that the chemist is greedy, and this counts as his payment. But she is quick to go back to her enjoyment and excitement ‘You may kiss me’ also showing her happiness. She is still paranoid that the poison might kill her ‘ But brush the dust off me, lest my horror it brings.’ She is squeamish that the dust might accidently kill her or other people and it also carries the horror of the poison. Furthermore it shows her greed and selfishness. Finally we get told when it is going to happen, ‘Ere I know it–next moment I dance at the King’s!’ She will be able to disappoint and it will happen during the King’s dance.
During the entire poem we see the extent of her ruthlessness and her power. This is fuelled by her selfishness, greed, excitement and pleasure. The intensity builds up because the enthusiasm and sensual excitement builds up throughout the poem.
In ‘My Last Duchess’ we see less enjoyment and pleasure, but instead a sense of control and a sense autocracy. The Duke is the Duke of ‘Ferrara’, which is a city-state and shows his autocratic figure and his control over people. The whole poem is in a dramatic monologue; there is a constant use of ‘I’ and ‘My’. In the poem we see that there is only one whole piece and no verses showing his arrogance. He admires his ‘Last Duchess’ and he has her, as he wanted her to be, in his control, ‘looking as if she were alive’. Now he is impressed and thinks it is a ‘piece of wonder’.
He takes advantage of his position ‘Will’t please you sit and look at her?’ this is an imperative forcing the messenger to view the painting. The brackets that are used show his boasting ego. The messenger is ‘not the first’ to ask about the smile. The form reflects his arrogance, showing a flood of his voice and he can’t pause for breath.
The Duke of Ferrara expresses his love of art by saying the name of the artist, and pointing out how quickly it was done, we learn more about it as his dramatic monologue progresses. Although the painting seems great and the Duke is impressed with it, the fact that he prefers the painting to the person makes it all the more sinister.
Now he gazes in ‘wonder’ at the painting because he can control it. ‘Will’t please you sit and look at her?’ this is imperative; the Duke is asserting his authority. The expression in the painting is a familiar look, ‘pictured countenance’. When the audience see it they always ask about the expression, the brackets show a sense of his ego and it shows that he can control anything because of his position. The messenger is ‘not the first’ to ask about this picture, showing that he shows this painting to everyone, reflecting his arrogance. ‘Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I’ showing his self regard, that he owns her.
The Duke also becomes a bit jealous because the expression wasn’t only because of her ‘husband’s presence’. The Duke resents that she is open to flattery. Frà Pandolf was being complimentary to her; he could not capture her full beauty. She thought he was being polite, ‘was courtesy’ and she was ‘too easily impressed’ and the repetition of ‘too’ emphasises that he did not like this.
There is a sense of hesitation, because he wants total control. The Duke is also a bit paranoid ‘She looked on, and her looks went everywhere’. She had the same response to small things and big things, ‘The dropping of the daylight in the West’ and ‘my gift of nine-hundred-years-old name’. He thinks that she isn’t doing him justice. She does not realise how lucky she is having his families ‘name’. He says that he gave her the ‘gift’ of marriage, thus shows his arrogance.
‘Never to stoop’ shows that he is hard and stubborn. He does not want to ‘stoop’ down to her level because he would humiliate himself if he told his wife to stop ‘stooping’. There is a constant use of caesuras, ‘Never to stoop. Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt.’ Showing self-righteousness, arrogance and his autocratic position and also giving the grim climax. It will make no difference to her smile of she was killed because he was treated in the same way as everything else. ‘I gave commands, then all smiles stopped together’, showing that he had her killed, showing his sinister and autocratic side.
Then the Duke starts talking the messenger as if he is a Count, this is sinister because the Duke says nothing more of his Duchess. ‘Of mine for dowry…though his fair daughter’s self’, shows that the Count is going to pay for his daughter to get married to the Duke, he is after the daughter but money is more appealing because it is mentioned first. He is compared to ‘Neptune’, showing his control and gives him a feeling that he is a God and he is ‘taming’ his wife, the ‘sea-horse’.
The Duke is more sinister than the poisoner; she is engaged and enthusiastic of what the poison is going to do. The Duke is driven by his arrogance and self regard. He wants the respect that he requires and there is a threat in what he is saying while she is excited by the power because she has the capacity to do a lot of damage, she is ruthless and wants wealth and power. But both of them are paranoid and unhinged,
